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Happy Halloween

Posted October 31, 2012

I love all the sights, tastes, sounds and smells of Halloween night!

Glowing pumpkins casting eerie shapes; the peaty aroma of smoke drifting from chimneys; a gigantic, balloon moon in a velvet sky; sticky toffee apples, melting marshmallows, peppery butternut squash soup; the muffled doorstep negotiations of small children as they decide who should ring the bell and demand ‘trick or treat’.

I’ve also been known to put up the odd Halloween decoration or two. This year, however, I decided to add impact with a themed makeover of our dining room. Perhaps I should have consulted first, but hey, I didn’t.

So I filled the dining room with squashes and gourds of various sizes, witches’ hats, spider web candles, cinnamon candles, tea light candles, orange and red flowers, garlands of berries and glittery black trees hung with miniature ceramic ghosts and grinning pumpkins. I thought it looked … a treat.

My husband took a different view. His only comment was, “Good God. You waste so much money on all this rubbish.” Call me melodramatic (he does!) but I’d spent a long time trying to create a fun atmosphere. His withering aside felt like a dagger to the heart.